Survey on the status of second-hand book markets

Please note: The deadline for responses to this survey has been extended to 30 August.

The International Authors Forum (IAF) campaigns on issues that unfairly limit authors’ earnings. We believe that the contribution of creators and copyright should be respected and that changes in culture should be an opportunity, and not a disadvantage, for authors. It has long been the case that readers share books they previously bought, by passing them on or giving them to charity shops. However, new models of business (particularly online) have created opportunities for books to be redistributed on a far larger scale and without any remuneration for the creator.

We are now gathering information from members and other organisations about the status of second-hand book markets around the world so that we can:

Evaluate how these markets behave in various countries,

Understand what threat there could be to authors’ earnings and, if so, to what scale,

Understand what elements of these markets need to be challenged and changed to honor the contribution authors make.

The deadline for submissions will be 30 August and findings from the survey will be shared with our membership in the future, in addition to supporting our ongoing campaigning efforts.

Please help us by completing this survey to the fullest extent you can.